What metrofibre does

metrofibre GmbH is a Düsseldorf-based, privately held developer and operator of open-access FTTH (Fibre to the Home) networks for German cities and larger municipalities. Founded in 2022 and backed by Dutch infrastructure investor CVC DIF, the company builds, finances, and operates fiber infrastructure across North Rhine-Westphalia through city-level subsidiaries including ruhrfibre (Essen, Herne, Bottrop), düsselfibre (Düsseldorf), and niersfibre (Mönchengladbach), collectively targeting approximately 321,500 homes passed plus business, school, hospital, and 5G backhaul connections. Projects are privately financed — most recently via a €120 million senior debt facility from ING, Kommunalkredit Austria AG, and SEB for ruhrfibre Essen — with optional municipal shareholding for co-determination rights.

The network design uses a Point-to-Point architecture with XGS PON technology and NE4 in-home cabling, delivering symmetric bandwidths of up to 10 Gbit/s per household, with redundant routing for reliability and reserve capacity for future upgrades. The company does not sell directly to end customers; instead it operates an open access wholesale model in which multiple ISPs and telecommunications providers offer their own branded services over metrofibre's passive and active fiber infrastructure. GTM is sales-led and partnership-driven, with revenue accruing from wholesale access fees to ISPs and project coordination/managed infrastructure services to municipal counterparties.

Metrofibre's customer base comprises ISP wholesale partners (unnamed but structurally diverse per the open access design), municipal governments and utility shareholders (Essen via EVV, Düsseldorf, Herne, Bottrop, Mönchengladbach), and local civil engineering partners for build-out execution. The company is led by founders including Christopher Rautenberg and a senior team drawn from Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Glasfaser, OXG, and 1&1, giving it deep FTTH rollout, wholesale operations, and procurement experience. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and with only ruhrfibre Essen in active construction and the remaining projects launching through 2026, current revenue contribution is minimal relative to the platform's long-term footprint.

Name

metrofibre

Legal name

metrofibre GmbH

Website

https://metrofibre.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

metrofibre is a Düsseldorf-based, CVC DIF-backed wholesale FTTH open-access fiber developer and operator building city-level networks across North Rhine-Westphalia (Essen, Düsseldorf, Herne, Bottrop, Mönchengladbach) serving ISPs, municipalities, businesses, and 5G backhaul.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecom Infrastructure

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction (237130)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP/FTTH) Broadband Providers (HDAIABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neutral-Host Fiber & Shared Access Network Operators (HDAIACAJ), Outside Plant (OSP) & Aerial/Buried Fiber Infrastructure (HDAFALAI), Fiber-to-the-Premises/Building (FTTP/FTTB) Operators (HDAIACAC)

Keywords

• Open access fiber networks
• FTTH infrastructure deployment
• Wholesale fiber access
• Telecom infrastructure services
• XGS PON broadband networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Network Access Fees: metrofibre generates revenue through wholesale access fees charged to ISPs and telecommunications providers who use the open fiber network infrastructure to offer their services. The company does not operate its own end-customer business, instead creating open network access for various telecommunications providers.
2. Infrastructure Services: Revenue from developing, financing, building, and operating fiber networks as a project coordinator for municipalities, cities, and housing companies. Projects are privately financed, often with municipalities taking a shareholding stake in project companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

metrofibre develops, finances, builds, and operates open access fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks for German cities and larger municipalities, using XGS PON technology combined with NE4 infrastructure and a Point-to-Point architecture that delivers symmetric bandwidths of up to 10 Gbit/s. The company acts as project coordinator from concept, planning and financing through construction and operations, integrating households, businesses, schools, hospitals, and public buildings onto redundant fiber networks while offering non-discriminatory wholesale access to multiple ISPs.

Product overview

metrofibre is a German fibre network developer and operator that develops, finances, builds, and operates open access FTTH (Fibre to the Home) networks for cities and larger municipalities in Germany. The company operates through regional sub-brands including düsselfibre (Düsseldorf), ruhrfibre (Essen, Herne, Bottrop), and niersfibre (Mönchengladbach). Using XGS PON technology with Point-to-Point architecture, metrofibre delivers bandwidths of up to 10Gbit/s symmetrically. The company follows an open access model allowing multiple ISPs to offer services over its networks, and all projects are privately financed without public funds or subsidies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Access FTTH Network Infrastructure (Wholesale Service) End-to-end wholesale FTTH fiber network infrastructure for German cities, providing ISPs and telecom operators with non-discriminatory access to gigabit fiber under their own brands via Point-to-Point + XGS PON architecture delivering up to 10 Gbit/s symmetric bandwidth.
• düsselfibre (Düsseldorf FTTH Project) City-wide FTTH network project for Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, targeting over 75,000 households, businesses, and public institutions with direct FTTH connections using private financing without public funds or subsidies.
• ruhrfibre Essen Integrated FTTH fiber network project in Essen, one of Germany's ten largest cities, connecting approximately 137,000 households plus businesses, schools, hospitals, and public buildings, with supporting infrastructure for 5G mobile network rollout.
• ruhrfibre Herne FTTH infrastructure project in the city of Herne in the northern Ruhr area, supporting structural economic transformation, targeting approximately 46,500 households, businesses, and public institutions with modern fiber technology.
• ruhrfibre Bottrop FTTH infrastructure project covering southern parts of Bottrop, targeting approximately 30,000 households across multiple city districts with gigabit-capable fiber by 2030, supporting the city's economic transition from a former mining city.
• niersfibre (Mönchengladbach FTTH Project) FTTH infrastructure project covering the entire city territory of Mönchengladbach, targeting approximately 33,000 households using XGS PON technology delivering up to 10 Gbit/s symmetric bandwidth, strengthening the location for businesses, schools, hospitals, and public facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 10 Gbit/s symmetric bandwidth per household
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Essener Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft (EVV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal utility company of Essen participating in ruhrfibre Essen project as shareholder, providing substantial co-determination rights in network development and operation.
• City of EssencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst project location for ruhrfibre in one of Germany's ten largest cities. First groundbreaking celebrated June 2, 2023. Project enables integrated fiber network for approximately 137,000 households plus businesses, schools, and public institutions.
• City of DüsseldorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose cooperation partner for düsselfibre project in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. Physical fiber construction beginning 2026 targeting over 75,000 households, businesses, and public institutions.
• City of HernemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiber infrastructure project for around 160,000 citizens in northern Ruhr area, supporting structural economic transformation. Physical construction beginning end of 2026 targeting approximately 46,500 households.
• City of BottropmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiber infrastructure project covering southern parts of Bottrop targeting approximately 30,000 households in multiple city districts. Full coverage targeted by 2030, supporting economic restructuring from former mining city.
• City of MönchengladbachmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiber infrastructure project for entire city territory targeting approximately 33,000 households by 2030, strengthening location for businesses, schools, hospitals, and public facilities.
• Local Planning and Construction Partners (Tiefbaupartner)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal planning and civil engineering partners accompanying network construction, securing speed, quality, and sustainability in construction activities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deutsche Glasfaser: Largest German alternative FTTH wholesale operator, also backed by infrastructure capital (EQT). Same open-access model targeting municipalities and rural/urban rollouts — the closest direct comparable to metrofibre's business model and target customer.
• OXG Glasfaser: Vodafone/Altice joint venture rolling out FTTH across German cities using an open-access wholesale approach. Directly competes for municipal tenders and ISP anchor contracts in overlapping German geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Telekom: Incumbent German telecom aggressively rolling out FTTH alongside its VDSL/copper and 5G networks. Overlaps with metrofibre in target cities but operates a vertically integrated retail-plus-wholesale model at national scale.
• Vodafone Germany: Major German telecom with cable (DOCSIS) and growing FTTH footprint via its own build plus the OXG Glasfaser JV. Competes with metrofibre in NRW urban areas for both residential fiber and 5G backhaul.
• 1&1 Versatel: Fiber/fixed-network operator focused on enterprise and carrier wholesale in Germany, with growing FTTH ambitions. Comparable wholesale fiber infrastructure footprint and overlapping ISP partners.
• Tele Columbus (PYUR): German cable/fiber operator offering gigabit connectivity via HFC and selective FTTH upgrades. Competes for ISP and wholesale partnerships in urban German markets adjacent to metrofibre's footprint.

Regional players

• NetCologne: Regional fiber and telecom operator in the Cologne/Rhineland area of NRW. Adjacent geographic focus to metrofibre with comparable municipal and MDU fiber build experience.
• M-net Telekommunikation: Regional fiber operator in Bavaria, majority-owned by infrastructure investors. Similar municipal-partnership and FTTH rollout playbook, but focused on southern Germany.

Emerging players

• Glaspoort: Dutch open-access FTTH wholesale operator backed by KPN and APG, deploying fiber at scale using a near-identical open-access wholesale model. Strong international peer for benchmarking metrofibre's commercial framework.
• Deutsche GigaNetz: German FTTH challenger building open-access networks in selected cities and municipalities, with comparable municipal-partnership structure and target customer base of ISPs and households.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/metrofibre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about metrofibre